Modular, self contained, engineered irrigation landscape and flower bed panel

ABSTRACT

A ornamental planting landscape irrigation distribution and reservoir product and method ecosystem employing a substantially continuous panel on the soil surface on which ornamental landscape plantings is placed or produced, the panel having a primary, lateral water distribution structure which distributes water from a water charging inlet through the lateral area to the panel periphery, where it is restrained, the primary water distribution structure being such that when filled with water or completely submerged in water air is trapped by the gaps and spaces of the material for ornamental landscape plant usage.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of prior provisional applicationSer. No. 60/390,097 filed Jun. 20, 2002, entitled MODULAR, SELFCONTAINED, ENGINEERED IRRIGATION LANDSCAPE AND FLOWER BED PANEL.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to permanently installed irrigation systems andmore specifically to underground, permanently installed irrigationsystems for the irrigation and planting of landscape and flower bedsthat conserve water which decreases labor requirements for theinstallation of the flower bed.

The goal of any installed landscape and flowerbed irrigation system isto irrigate the target landscape plants as efficiently as is possiblewith minimum labor and parts, and therefore, the lowest installed costpossible. If these requirements are met, the water required to irrigatethe landscape and flowerbed plants is conserved and the cost ofinstalling the landscape/flower bed irrigation system is minimized.Current state of the irrigation systems for landscape/flower beds can bebroken into three broad categories; sprinklers, drip and floodirrigation.

One of the earliest forms of irrigation is the flood irrigation concept.This type of irrigation requires that the flowerbed area to be irrigatedbe manipulated and contoured such that the water will flow into all ofthe required areas to be irrigated without leaving the intended areabefore the water has had sufficient time to soak into the surface soil.This requires labor intensive berming of the perimeter of thelandscape/flower bed area and a source of water emission containedwithin the bermed perimeter. The benefits of this type oflandscape/flower bed irrigation are low initial cost of the irrigationsystem with regard to materials and ease of installation. The drawbacksof this form of flood irrigation for a landscape/flower bed isinefficiency due to evaporation as the water sits on the surface of thebed and excessive loss of water due to deep percolation past the rootzone of the plantings in the landscape/flower bed. Another drawback ofthe conventional landscape/flower bed with a flood irrigation system isthe high level of labor required in the excavating and planting of thebed. The bed must have a berm completely around the perimeter and thelandscape plants/flowers must be located at the proper depth. Also, fora healthy flowerbed it is often necessary to dig down 12 to 18 inchesand amend the soil to provide suitable growing conditions for theplantings. For landscape and flower plants the soil must be of a textureto allow for water and air to be available to the plant at all times.Still another drawback of flood irrigation for flower/landscape beds isthat by definition the entire area of the bed is flooded, providingmoisture for the weeds/weed seeds which exist in the flower/landscapebed base soil, promoting the growth of the weeds. This unintended weedgrowth increases the labor requirement for maintaining a well-keptflower landscape beds. The unintended weed growth can also result inincreased chemical herbicide weed killer usage, which can result inincreased chemical run-off and environmental damage. Altogether, floodirrigation has been low on efficiency and high in labor requirements forlandscape/flower beds installation of the bed and irrigation system.

The second form of irrigation to be discussed, sprinkler irrigation, isby far the most commonly used form of irrigation for landscape/flowerbeds. This form of irrigation utilized in flower/landscape beds consistsof pipes located underground with shrub risers with spray nozzlesthreaded on them, referred to as fixed spray risers, or pop up sprayhead or sprinkler devices which pop up and then retract underground inbetween irrigation events. The spray nozzles affixed to either fixedrisers or pop up risers spray out water in a pattern, which sprays outover the entire flower bed/landscape area. Due to the irregular shapeand varying width of flower/landscape beds, it is often impossible totarget spray head water only on the intended flower/landscape bedwithout significant over spray into unintended areas. Also, thedistribution of water from these sprinkler devices is often interruptedin flower/landscape beds due to the height of the plantings in theseareas creating irregular wetting patterns. Sprinkler irrigation inflower/landscape beds suffers from inefficiencies found in sprinklerirrigation of turf areas, namely high evaporation losses from beingthrown in the air and evaporation from collecting on the leaf areamaterial. In addition to the inherent distribution inefficiencies ofbroadcasting water through the air, sprinkler irrigation also suffersfrom the basic inefficiency of attempting to irrigate the entireflower/landscape bed while the planting area may only cover as little as50 percent of the bed. In addition to irrigating the entire areaautomatically cutting the efficiency, the moisture not irrigating thebedding plants will irrigate weeds and weed seeds in the landscape bedsoil, increasing again the need for herbicide chemicals. In all,sprinkler irrigation for flower/landscape beds, while being the mostwidely used form of irrigation, falls short of efficiency and is laborintensive and complicated to install and design.

The third form of prior art irrigation system is know as dripirrigation. Drip irrigation for flower/landscape beds comes in twoinstallation methodologies, subsurface and surface drip irrigation.First for subsurface drip irrigation, a drip emitter line is buried sixto twelve inches below the flower/landscape bed with the lines beingtwelve to eighteen inches apart. The emitters emit water at a rate from0.5 to 2 gallons per hour and are subsurface drip emitter layout grid isto water the soil beneath the flower/landscape bed completely. The gridresults in subsurface watering, but is subject to several limitationsand inefficiencies. The physics of water movement through varioustextures of soil can act to limit the efficiency of subsurface dripirrigation. In a coarse soil, such as sand, the water moves outward andupward due to capillary action, but to a greater extent once the soil issaturated the water moves downward due to gravity force. This basic formof movement happens in all soil types, to the greatest extent in sandand to a lesser extent in a clay soil. As water drops below the dripline grid, which is already six to eight inches deep, it passes out ofthe root zone of flower/landscape plants. In addition to dropping belowthe root zone of the plantings, the fact that the grid irrigates theentire bed area, where the plantings may only occupy 50 percent of thebed area, the efficiency of the water placement is reduced. Placing thedrip line below the bed surface creates several maintenanceconsiderations, such as roots growing into the many individual, low flowemitter devices, cutting of the multiple emitter lines from shovels andmaintenance tools, and plugging of the small emitter orifices with soiland sediment. The prevention of roots growing into the emitters can beaccomplished by impregnating the plastic, which the emitters are moldedout of with a chemical herbicide such as Treflan. To prevent damage fromtools and shovels the lines must be buried as deep as possible, howeverthis just makes the problem of water loss below the root zone greater.In addition to efficiency and maintenance concerns, there is also theincreased labor requirements of installing the subsurface system.

In a modification of subsurface drip, U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,711, issued toJonas Sipaila, entitled Subsurface Fluid Distribution Apparatus andMethod, teaches a drainage and irrigation system based upon anunpressurized half pipe contained within a chamber filled with asignificant depth of washed sand material. In this patent, it teachesexcavation down to a required depth, laying of a liner, placement of awater channel, non-pressurized pipe, and filling with a washed sandmaterial of significant depth (13 inches) to provide a growing root zonefor the planted plant material. While this patent method does provide acontrolled root zone, it is very expensive to provide the excavation andmaterial for the root zone growth. Also, the method suffers from beingthe most labor intensive of all types of flower/landscape bedinstallation, requiring complete excavation to a significant depth andtotal replacement of the root zone growth material. Another limitationof this type of system is that it must be installed perfectly flat andin a descending order if more than one unit is installed in a serialmanner. So that in addition to all of the additional labor requirements,there is extensive grading and leveling requirements. This systemattempts to improve efficiency but does so at great expense in cost oflabor and materials. It markedly increases the time required toestablish a flower/landscape bed.

The next form of drip irrigation for flower/landscape beds is surfacedrip irrigation. In this form of drip irrigation, the drip emitters arelocated on the surface of the flower/landscape bed, typically with anemitter for each plant. This form of irrigation does provide increasedefficiency due to watering at the plants only but is extremely sensitiveto disturbance on the surface by tools and maintenance activities. Thistype of drip irrigation is the most utilized form of drip irrigation.The small molded and extruded plastic components of this form ofirrigation are easily destroyed by normal gardening activities such asraking and digging, removing weeds, planting new flower/landscape beds,etc. Another danger is that because of the small diameter tubing andemitters that the point emission devices get moved away from theintended watering areas, increasing inefficiency in the irrigationsystem. While the surface drip irrigation system is not as laborintensive as the flood, sprinkler and subsurface drip irrigation systemsto install, it is still fairly design and labor intensive to calculatethe proper flow rate for each emitter/planting combination and theproperly layout the entire system.

In a recent irrigation system for the irrigation of turf grass inventedby the inventor of the current invention, U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,776entitled Subsurface Mat Amendment System and Apparatus was developed toprovide a simpler irrigation system specifically for the irrigation ofturf grass. This system can be classified as a form of subsurfaceirrigation but because it is a continuous product intended for turf, itis not efficient for the irrigation of flower/landscape plantings.

Aside from the labor requirement of installing whatever form ofirrigation system is selected for the flower/landscape bed, there is asignificant element of labor required in the preparation of theflowerbed itself. Typical steps required to establish a flower/landscapebed in a typical turf grass lawn include: laying out the shape of thearea, removing the turf grass, weeds and stones to a depth of 12 inches,bringing whatever soil amendments might be required for the soil basematerial, incorporating the amendments or tilling the soil to give afriable, open mixture of soil, creating border for the flower/landscapebed to prevent invasive turf grass and weeds from penetrating the bed,applying a weed killer to kill any weed or grass left in the bed, andthen finally smoothing out the final surface of the bed. Once all ofthese tasks are completed, then the form of irrigation system can beinstalled to provide moisture to the plants within the bed.

All in all, no one prior art irrigation system for flower/landscape bedshas been developed which is cost effective, easy to install, efficientand significantly reduces the labor requirement of installing irrigatedflower/landscape beds, while also reducing the labor requirement of theactual preparation of the flower/landscape bed itself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a general objective of the current invention to overcomethe above-described limitations and labor requirements associated withprior art irrigation systems for flower/landscape beds and also thelabor requirements for installing the flower/landscape bed itself.

In order to accomplish the objectives of the current invention, thesystem apparatus according to the invention includes in one preferredembodiment a panel made up of multiple materials including a plasticbase material, a flexible wicking material such as polyurethane foam, alength of tubing such as polyethylene tubing, one or more flowcontrolled emission device(s), an optional non-sealed metallic conduitwhich the tube and emission device is inserted into, an optional waterholding material such as a polymer crystal, and connector devices tointerlock the panel with other panels if desired to form a multiplepanel flower/irrigation bed if desired and an optional rigid meshmaterial. The base plastic material that forms the bottom and sides ofthe panel can range from a flexible polyethylene sheet to asemi-flexible vacuum formed thermo-plastic shell to a rigid vacuumformed thermoplastic shell or a injection molded rigid plastic shellcombined with a flexible polyethylene material to form the bottom tray.The base plastic material can vary in thickness depending upon thetoughness of the materials but should be such that it is durable enoughto withstand being placed upon sticks, rocks or other possibleprojections without penetrating the material. The base plastic materialcan be solid or with a slight porosity is all or certain areas to allowthe movement of water and air through the rest of the panel. Theflexible wicking material is an open cell reticulated, polyetherpolyurethane foam or in an alternate embodiment bonded crumb rubber andpolyurethane material. The length of tubing that is embedded within thepanel is a typical polyethylene tube of ⅛^(th) to 1-inch diameter astypically used in irrigation applications or in an alternativeembodiment a cross-linked polyethylene material. The flow controlledemission device is a typical flow control disk with a various flow ratefrom ½ to 60 gallons per hour depending upon the number emission devicesor the desired precipitation rate of the panel. The flow control devicecan also be simply a hole or open end of a fitting which flows water ina controlled manner into the panel. The water holding polymer gel isthat typically available for holding water in a soil medium. Thenon-sealed metallic sheath is a wound metal material made fromnon-corrosive metal and is not sealed to provide water movement throughthe conduit. The push to connect fitting can be a barbed push on fittingor an insert compression type of fitting typically available within theirrigation industry for use with polyethylene pipes. The optional wiremesh fabric like commonly available chicken wire or screen mesh can beadded to the panel to provide additional protection to the finishedcomposite panel.

The invention apparatus in one preferred embodiment is assembled to acomplete product as follows:

-   1. The flow control(s) unit(s) is inserted into the appropriate    length of polyethylene tubing.-   2. The push to connect connector (either a compression type of    fitting as is typically used with polyethylene tubing in the    irrigation industry or a gripping configuration such as a threaded    or grip ring device) is inserted full depth into one end of the    polyethylene tubing.-   3. The tubing/flow control(s)/push to connect fitting assembly is    inserted into the optional flexible non-sealed metallic conduit.-   4. The base plastic shell material has a first layer of the flexible    polyether polyurethane foam inserted and secured into it.-   5. The optional polymer water holding gel is secured to the top of    the first polyether polyurethane foam material.-   6. The tubing/flow control/push to connect fitting/optional flexible    non-sealed metallic conduit is then placed on top of the first layer    of foam/polymer gel crystals.-   7. Another top layer of foam material is created with a geometric    pattern of holes ranging from 1 inch to 12 inches to create holes    into which the flower/landscape plants can be placed into the panel.-   8. The top layer of foam with the planting holes is secured onto the    plastic/foam/polymer gel/water emitting configuration to create the    final panel configuration.    The panel is now a complete integral unit that can now be laid down    as a single unit or connected to a series of units to create the    desired flower/landscape bed.

The flower/landscape panel bed system is installed by simply placing thepanels in the desired area where a flower/landscape bed is desired. Thepanels can be placed on surfaces of turf grass, where the grass beneaththe panel will die and compost beneath the panel and not emerge throughthe panel, leaving just the flower/landscape panels with no sub growththrough. The panels can also be placed directly on uncultivated soil ofany type, as the flowers/landscape plants grow within the panelmaterial. It has even been demonstrated that a thriving flowerbed can begrown on solid asphalt in Phoenix, Ariz. on the western side of abuilding. The panels can be placed in an arrangement where one panelconnects directly into another panel or is separated and connected by alength of polyethylene tubing. Once the final panel is attached, an endplug or closure is connected to complete the series of panels or panel.Each individual panel should be fairly level to facilitate waterdistribution. The initial panel is then connected to a pressurized watersource and water fills the emission lines of all the panelssimultaneously. The water fills the lower reservoirs of each panel. Thelandscape flowers and plants are planted into the panels by simplyremoving the flowers/plants from the shipping pots/containers or traysthat they came in from the nursery or point of purchase and insertingthe root ball/soil combination directly into the hole. Once all theholes are filled as desired, mulch is then placed on the surface of thepanels and into the holes of any planting holes that were not filled, ifany. As a final step a border of landscape blocks or stones or mulch canbe added around the panels. Once charged with water, the panels providewater air and a root support structure to the roots growing out of thesoil/soil combination into the growth matrix, and also a structure forthe plant support.

Theory of Operation

The engineered, irrigation flower and landscape bed panel provides aninstant, irrigated flower/landscape bed ready for the planting offlowers. It eliminates the need to dig out beds, cultivate soil, importsoil amendments, etc Once connected to a pressurized water source, eachconnected panel(s) fills with water through the first layer of wickingmaterial (typically polyether polyurethane foam). The landscape/flowersoil/root ball of each plant rests on top of the first layer of wickingmaterial in the pre-cut holes in the secondary top layer of foam. Thetop layer of wicking material is covered with mulch to create a toplayer of the panel(s) and hold moisture in the top layer of wickingmaterial and create a moist, humid 100% humidity zone with a structurethat the plant roots can penetrate into. The plant roots grow out of thesoil/soil area in the cutout of the top wicking material into the sideareas. The roots are also able to grow into the bottom wicking panel topick up moisture if necessary for support of the flower/landscapeplants. The open cell wicking material forms an optimum growth mediumfor the planted flowers and landscape beds as it contains ample amountsof readily available water and air in an optimum structure for roots togrow into. With a partially porous to non-porous bottom and sides, thereis no loss of the irrigation water to the lower surface that thelandscape panel is placed on. With the mulch surface on the top of thepanel evaporation through the upper surface of the landscape panel isalso minimized, creating a watering situation were all of the wateremitted into the landscape panel is available to the landscape plants.The dewatering of the panels is accomplished mainly through thetranspiration of the planted materials within the panels. Water movementthroughout the panel vapor phase as the wicking material below the mulchis at 100 percent humidity. The water is constantly redistributingthroughout the panel allowing for even water distribution not availablein a conventional flowerbed soil situation. With the panel installedover the base soil weeds and weed seeds that were present in the soilare not allowed to grow up through the panel material, making for aflower or landscape bed with no weeds. When installed over any type ofsoil area or existing landscape, the landscape panels provide a means tohave a lush landscape/flower bed with minimal input of labor and water.

The landscape/flower panels, once installed with the flower/landscapeplantings, provide a permanent irrigation planting bed system withseveral advantages over conventional landscape/flower beds withirrigation. Some of the advantages include:

-   1. Significantly less labor is required to complete the installation    of the landscape/flower bed and irrigation system (no trenching,    laying pipe, installing heads, adjusting heads, covering trenches,    amending soil, tilling, removing weeds, applying chemicals, digging    holes, etc). Each landscape panel is an independent, self-contained    panel with irrigation.-   2. There are no hydraulic calculations for the irrigation system and    design steps.-   3. There are no critical emission device placement requirements.-   4. There is no need to prepare the base soil with tilling,    amendments, etc.-   5. There is no need for the landscape/flower bed to be grown over a    suitable soil substrate.-   6. There is a reduced need to utilize herbicides for the killing of    weeds that would grow up from the base soil as they are blocked by    the landscape panel.-   7. Over spray and wind drift are eliminated as the water is    contained only in the irrigation panel and not sprayed into the    atmosphere.-   8. Water loss due to deep percolation is greatly reduced.-   9. Evaporation of irrigation water is greatly reduced.-   10. Runoff outside the flower/landscape bed area is eliminated as    the landscape panel contains the irrigation water within the root    zone.-   11. The modular, self-contained panels require no excavation as    prior art systems do.-   12. The non-conventional high flow rate of the discharge device    within the landscape panel discourages plugging and detrimental root    growth around the emission device.

The above listing of benefits and features, considered with the hardwarelandscape panel descriptions from above will become more evident whenconsidered with the following drawings and descriptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. is a schematic of one preferred embodiment of the engineeredlandscape/flower irrigation panel showing a cross sectional view and allthe components it is made up of.

FIG. 2. is a schematic top view of the landscape/flower irrigation panelshowing a possible configuration for the pre cut planting holes.

FIG. 3. is an alternate schematic top view of one embodiment showing theemission device and potential connection points.

FIG. 4. shows an installation of several engineered landscape/flowerpanels in a typical landscape situation.

FIG. 5. shows a cross sectional view of an engineered irrigationlandscape/flower panel with plant material planted and growing.

FIG. 6. shows a schematic view of an engineered irrigationlandscape/flower panel completely connected to a pressurized watersource.

FIG. 7. shows an equation of how to calculate the precipitation rates ofa panel for area vs. emission flow rate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1. is a schematic of one preferred embodiment of the engineeredlandscape/flower irrigation panel showing a cross sectional view and allthe components it is made up of. The landscape/flower irrigation panel10 is made up of a non-porous to partially porous bottom and side liner11 made of a suitable polymer material, the first solid piece of wickingmaterial 12, preferably made of an open cell polyether polyurethanefoam, a connection fitting 13 for connection to a pressurized watersource, one or more emission devices 14 connected to a distribution tube15 of suitable tube material such as polyethylene which traverses thepanel between the first piece of wicking material 12 and a secondarypiece of polyether polyurethane wicking material 16 which has holes 17of appropriate diameter drilled into it. The holes 17 typically range indiameter from 2 inches to 12 inches to accommodate various diameterbedding and landscape plants. The end of the traversing distributiontube 15 terminates with a connection fitting 18 that can be eitherplugged or connected to additional tubing and run to another panel. Alayer of water absorbing polymer gel 19 can be located between thewicking material layers 12 and 16 to provide additional water storage,however the wicking material can be located anywhere appropriate withinthe panel. All of the components are secured to form a complete panel10, which is ready to plant with flowers.

FIG. 2. is a schematic top view of the landscape/flower irrigation panelshowing a possible configuration for the pre cut planting holes. Thepanel 20 is made up of all of the elements explained in FIG. 1. Thepre-cut holes 21 can be in a variety of diameters 22 and arrangements asdeemed optimum for a particular planting bed region. The diameters 22can range typically from 2 inches to 12 inches or greater depending onthe particular planting material to be established in the bed. The outerperimeter of the landscape panel 23 can have any arbitrary shape such asrounded corners 24 to provide an artistic or functional flower/landscapebed. The overall shape could be round, arbitrary, square, or whateverwould be deemed suitable for the particular situation. The lower layerwicking material 25 and distributed water absorbing polymer gel 26 willbe visible and accessible through the pre-cut planting holes 21. Theattachment fitting 27 and continuation/termination fitting 28 can alsobe seen from the top view, with a portion of the distribution tubing 29.

FIG. 3. is an alternate schematic top view of several embodimentsshowing alternate possible shapes for various installations. Theengineered landscape/flower beds can take on various geometric shapes asseen from a schematic top view such as pie shaped 30, as would be usedin the corner of an intended flower or landscape bed, circular 31 aswould be used around a growing tree, or in an arbitrary shape 32 aswould be used in a flower bed garden area. The connections 33 andterminations 34, and all other elements are as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2above.

FIG. 4. shows an installation of several engineered landscape/flowerpanels in a typical landscape situation. The various shapes ofengineered landscape/flower panels 40 are installed around a schematichouse 41. The various panels 40 are connected serially 42 together whenis proximity to each other. The stand alone beds 43 are connected to awater source from an appropriately pressurized water connection 44. Theentire installation is pressurized from valves supplying the irrigationwater.

FIG. 5. shows a cross sectional view of an engineered irrigationlandscape/flower panel with plant material planted and growing. Theschematic picture shows a living, growing plant 50 that is planted intoa pre-cut hole 51 in the second layer of wicking material 52. The rootsof the plant 50 are growing into the second layer of wicking material 52and the bottom wicking layer 53. The emission device 54 emits water intothe wicking layers 52 and 53. The plant root and sol ball 55 is insertedinto the pre-cut hole 51 of the panel. Mulch 56 is placed on top of thepanel. Emitted water collects in the bottom layer of wicking material 53and moves through the top wicking layer 52 through a combination ofwicking action, mechanical movement and travel as water vapor where itcan recondense in the upper wicking material 52 as available water forthe plant roots 57. The plant roots 57 can also grow into the bottomwicking layer 53 and extract as much moisture as necessary. Because ofthe unique open cell structure of the wicking material 52 and 53,preferably polyether polyurethane foam with open cells, air isconstantly available to the roots 57 of the plant. The panel has zoneswithin it of varying moisture level, from nearly saturated to lightlymoist. The plant roots 57 will propagate in the appropriate zones tosupply adequate air and moisture as needed. The roots 57 growing intothe wicking matrix 52 and 53 also provide stability to the plant. Thelandscape/flower bed irrigation panel is located on a base material 58of either soil or any solid material. The panel is connect to apressurized water source through tube 59 and water is run periodicallyas needed to maintain moisture within the panel. The water holdingpolymer gels are optionally contained in area 60. The wire mesh would toprevent damage to the panel would be contained in area 61.

FIG. 6. shows a schematic view of an engineered irrigationlandscape/flower panel completely connected to a pressurized watersource. The panel 62 is connected to a valve mechanism 63 which caneither be manual or controlled automatically through a clock controller.The water flows into the distribution tube 64 and out the emissiondevice 65 and into the panel wicking material 66 and 67. Because of thenonporous to partially porous bottom and sides 68 and 69 the water doesnot or very minutely flows into the base material 69 that the panel isinstalled over. The water moves into the soil and root ball 70 throughcapillary action of the soil in the pre cut hole 71. The water movesinto the upper wicking material 67 through vapor transfer or mechanicalmovement.

FIG. 7. shows an equation of how to calculate the precipitation rates ofa panel for area vs. emission flow rate.

The above described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate theprinciples of the invention, but not to limit the scope of theinvention. Various other embodiments and modifications to theseembodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the invention as described.

1. A method of installing a landscape planting bed, the methodcomprising the steps of: positioning a substantially continuous paneldefining a primary water distributing and a air holding structure over abase surface in an area which is to contain landscape plantings; andpositioning landscape plants over the substantially continous panel,wherein the primary water distribution structure and air holdingstructure consists of a porous and laterally permeable primary water andair holding distribution material contained within the panel and open toreceive water from a water source.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercompromising the step of: b) positioning a lower boundary material toreside between the base surface and the primary water and air holdingstructure material, the lower boundary material comprising asubstantially less porous and permeable material having wateringcharging and air holding characteristics different from the watercharging and air holding characteristics of the primary water and airholding structure material.
 3. The method of claim 2 further comprisingthe step of: a) positioning an upper boundary material to reside overthe principle surface of the primary water and air holding structurematerial, the upper boundary material comprising a porous and permeablematerial having watering charging and air holding characteristicsdifferent from the water charging and air holding characteristics of theprimary water and air holding structure material.
 4. The method of claim3 wherein the steps of positioning the lower boundary material, theprimary water distributing and air holding material, and the upperboundary material are performed simultaneously.
 5. The method of claim 1further compromising the step of: a) positioning the a water supply todirect irrigation water into one of the water distributing and airholding panel materials.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising thestep of: a) blocking substantially the outer periphery and lower surfaceof the water distributing and air holding panel materials.
 7. A methodof installing a landscape planting bed, the method comprising the stepsof: positioning a substantially continuous water-permeable paneldefining a primary water holding and air holding structure over a basesurface in an area which is to contain landscape plantings; andpositioning landscape plants over the substantially continous panel,wherein the primary water distribution structure and air holdingstructure consists of a porous and laterally permeable primary water andair holding distribution material contained within the panel and open toreceive water from a water source, and further comprising the step ofpositioning a water flow blocking material around substantially theentire peripheral edsge and lower surface of the primary waterdistribution structure and air holding structure.
 8. The method of claim7 further comprising the step of: a) positioning a water supply conduitto direct irrigation water into the primary water distribution structureand air holding structure at a charging point located at the peripheraledge of the primary water distribution structure and air holdingstructure.
 9. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of: a)positioning a water supply conduit to direct irrigation water into theprimary water distribution structure and air holding structure throughthe top surface of the primary water distribution structure and airholding structure.
 10. A method of producing a landscape plantingecosystem, the method comprising the steps of: positioning asubstantially continous water distribution structure and air holdingstructure panel over a base surface in an area is is to containlandscape plantings, positioning a selection of landscape plantingmaterials comprising growing medium and live landscape plantings overthe mat; and providing a water inlet to said panel such that water willbe distributed evenly in the area of the panel.
 11. An irrigation methodcomprising the steps of: supplying irrigation water at a charge rateinto a primary water distribution structure and air holding structureassociated with a continuous water-permeable panel having a lateralareaas residing in the root zone of a planting area to be irrigated andextending throughout the area, the panel forming a discontinuity withthe material above the panel and below the panel; and distributing theirrigation water throughout the lateral area of the panel through theprimary porous structure in response to the irrigation water supplied ata charge rate such that the water evenly fills the panel, wherein thestep of distributing the irrigation water through the lateral area ofthe panel includes the step of moving the water through the porousmaterial and trapping air in the interconnected cellular structure ofthe primary porous structure such as to create available air forlandscape plant roots, and wherein the step of supplying the irrigationwater to primary water distribution structure and air holding structurecomprises directing irrigation water from a supply conduit into thepanel primary water distribution structure and air holding structure,and further comprising the step of blocking substantially all of theperipheral edge and lower surface of the panel
 12. An irrigation methodcomprising the steps of: supplying irrigation water at a charge rateinto a primary water distribution structure and air holding structureassociated with a continuous water-permeable panel having a lateral arearesiding in the root zone of a landscape planting area to be irrigatedand extending throughtout the area, the panel forming a discontinuitywith the material above the panel and the material below the panel; anddistributing the irrigation water throughout the lateral area of thepanel through the primary water distribution structure and air holdingstructure in response to the irrigation water supplied at a charge ratesuch that the water is supplied evenly to the root zone, wherein thestep of distributing the irrigation water through the lateral area ofthe panel includes the step of distributing irrigation water into a anarea of the primary water distribution structure and air holdingstructure where the root structure of the landscape plant material hasbeen located so as to provide the irrigation water and air to beavailable to the plant material.
 13. An irrigation method comprising thestep of: supplying irrigation water at a charge rate into a primarywater distribution structure and air holding structure associated with acontinuous water-permeable panel having a lateral area residing in theroot zone of an area to be irrigated and extending throughout theplanting bed area, the panel forming a discontinuity with the materialabove the mat and the material below the mat; and distributing theirrigation water throughout the lateral area of the panel through aprimary water distribution structure integrally located within the matin response to the irrigation water supplied at the charge rate suchthat the water is evenly applied to the root zone.
 14. The method ofclaim 13 wherein the step of distributing the irrigation water throughthe lateral area of the mat includes the step of: a) distributingirrigation water through a controlled release device embedded within theprimary water distribution structure and air holding structure.
 15. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the controlled release device is a flowregulating, pressure compensated emission rate module which emits waterat a controlled rate.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the step ofsupplying irrigation water to the pressure compensated emission ratemodule comprises: a) directing irrigation water from a water supplyconduit into the flow regulating, pressure compensated emission ratemodule.
 17. the method of claim 15 including the step of: a)distributing the irrigation water from the primary water distributionstructure and air holding structure through an upper boundary of thepanel, the upper boundary material having water distribution structureand air holding structure characteristics different from the primarywater distribution structure and air holding structure.
 18. Anirrigation apparatus adapted to be incorporated into the root zone of alandscape planting area to be irrigated, the apparatus comprising: asubstantially continuous panel which may be positioned substantiallyparallel to the area to be irrigated; a charge inlet associated with thepanel; and a primary water distribution structure and air holdingstructure comprising a porous and laterally permeable material selectedfrom a group consisting of an open cell foam material or reticulatedmaterial; and the panel includes a lower boundary material selected froma substantially less porous material selected from a group consisting ofclosed cell foam material or polymeric plastic material.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 18 wherein the porous and laterally permeable primarywater distribution material is selected from the group consisting of anopen cell foam material, a reticulated material, and a granularmaterial.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising; a) aperipheral edge boundary material selected from a substantially lessporous material selected from a group consisting of a closed cell foammaterial or polymeric plastic material.
 21. The apparatus of claim 18where the charge inlet is located along the periphery edge of the panel.22. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the porous and laterally permeableprimary water distribution material is an open cell foam material orreticulated material with webbed cellular structure such that whenfilled with water or completely submerged in water air is trapped by thegaps and spaces in the material.
 23. An irrigation apparatus adapted tobe incorporated into the root zone of a landscape planting area to beirrigated, the apparatus comprising: a substantially continuous panelfor encompassing a soil area to be irrigated and which may be positionedsubstantially parallel to the area to be irrigated; a charge inletassociated with the panel for supplying water which is distributedcontinuously throughout the area of the panel; and a primary waterdistribution structure and air holding structure comprising a porous andlaterally permeable material selected from a group consisting of an opencell foam and reticulated material for receiving water through thecharge inlet, when the irrigation water is received at an operating flowrate, distributing the irrigation water substantially throughout thelateral area of the panel continuously.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23wherein the panel includes; a) a peripheral and lower boundary materiallocated substantially around the entire periphery and lower area of thepanel, the boundary material having water charging characteristicsdifferent from the primary water distribution material.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 24 where the boundary material comprises a materialwhich is less permeable than the primary water distribution material.26. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the panel includes; a) an upperwater and air holding structure of the panel includes recessed areasinto which the landscape plant material roots can be located.
 27. Theapparatus of claim 26 wherein the upper panel includes; a) a recessedareas that are created at the time of installation by the personinstalling the landscape plants.
 28. The apparatus of claim 26 whereinthe upper panel includes; a) recessed areas for the installing of thelandscape plants.
 29. The apparatus of claim 23 where the charge inletis the entire upper surface of the panel.
 30. The apparatus of claim 23where the charge inlet is through the bottom surface of the panel. 31.The apparatus of claim 23 where the primary porous and laterallypermeable primary water distribution material is an open cell foammaterial or reticulated material with webbed cellular structure suchthat when filled with water or completely submerged in water air istrapped by the gaps and spaces in the material
 32. The apparatus ofclaim 26 where the upper porous and laterally permeable primary waterdistribution material is selected from the group consisting of an opencell foam material, a reticulated material, and a granular material. 33.The apparatus of claim 23 where the primary porous and laterallypermeable primary water distribution material is an open cell foammaterial or reticulated material with webbed cellular structure suchthat when filled with water or completely submerged in water air istrapped by the gaps and spaces in the material.
 34. The apparatus ofclaim 23 wherein the charge inlet is a flow controlled emission devicewhich regulates the amount of irrigation water entering the panel. 35.The apparatus of claim 26 where the upper porous and laterally permeableprimary water distribution material is an open cell foam material orreticulated material with webbed cellular structure such that whenfilled with water or completely submerged in water air is trapped by thegaps and spaces in the material.
 36. An irrigation apparatus adapted tobe incorporated into the root zone of a landscape planting area to beirrigated, the apparatus comprising: a substantially continuous panelwhich may be positioned substantially parallel to the area to beirrigated; a charge inlet associated with the panel; and a primary waterdistribution structure and air holding structure comprising a porous andlaterally permeable material selected from a group consisting of an opencell foam material or reticulated material; and the panel includes alower boundary material selected from a substantially less porousmaterial selected from a group consisting of closed cell foam materialor polymeric plastic material and an upper water and air holdingstructure selected from a group consisting of an open cell foam materialor reticulated material.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the upperwater and air holding structure of the panel includes recessed areasinto which the landscape plant material roots can be located.
 38. Theapparatus of claim 37 where the recessed areas are created at the timeof installation by the person installing the landscape plants.
 39. Theapparatus of claim 36 where the charge inlet is the entire upper surfaceof the panel.
 40. The apparatus of claim 36 where the charge inlet isthrough the bottom surface of the panel.
 41. The apparatus of claim 37where the upper porous and laterally permeable primary waterdistribution material is an open cell fo9am material or reticulatedmaterial with webbed cellular structure such that when filled with wateror completely submerged in water air is trapped by the gaps and spacesin the material
 42. The apparatus of claim 36 where the porous andlaterally permeable primary water distribution material is selected fromthe group consisting of an open cell foam material, a reticulatedmaterial, and a granular material.
 43. The apparatus 42 where the porousand laterally permeable primary water distribution material is an opencell foam material or reticulated material with webbed cellularstructure which that when filled with water or completely submerged inwater air is trapped by the gaps and spaces in the material.
 44. Theapparatus of claim 36 wherein the charge inlet is a flow controlledemission device which regulated the amount of irrigation water enteringthe panel.